Washed Away
by sunniebelle
Summary: The Doctor and Rose find themselves caught in a monsoon rainstorm and separated from the TARDIS. But will Rose's determination to get them back to the ship be putting them in too much danger?


The cold rain beats down on Rose and the Doctor in a steady, harsh rhythm. Their clothes are soaked through, thanks to the monsoon downpour, making them look and feel a bit like drowned rats. The Doctor's hair—usually having the appearance of an enraged hedgehog—is flat in some areas, but clumped and rumpled in others as he anxiously runs his fingers over his head. Rose's, normally bottle-blonde hair, has darkened to a toffee color and seems content to stay plastered to her head.

Ahead of them, a little less than a mile away, the TARDIS's warm, dry interior waits for them. Yet, to get to it they must cross a mid-shin deep, two meter wide stream, in the midst of a heavy rainstorm.

Behind them lay miles of forested flatland that they had just traipsed through. Rose and the Doctor had assured the locals they'd befriended that they would be able to reach their 'transport vehicle' before the stream flooded too high to cross. Of course, they hadn't accounted for the obstacles that had forced them to take the long way to the TARDIS, effectively eating up their time, whilst allowing the water to rise and the storm to worsen.

And yet they stood there at the bank of the stream, arguing and wasting more time.

She knew the reason he was hesitant to cross the stream—the danger of wading in a quick-moving stream in the midst of a storm was rather high—but really, the way she saw it, there was no alternative.

Glancing up and down the stream as far as she could see, Rose looked for a safer way of getting across.

_Why do our adventures never have a conveniently placed tree trunk bridge like in the movies?_ she wondered sardonically to herself.

She took a moment to reason out in her head what they should do; yet, knowing the TARDIS was only a short ways past the stream and she was already soaked to the bone, she really didn't want to walk several miles back to the village.

With her mind made up, she straightened her spine and began to carefully wade into the cold water.

The Doctor tried to talk her out of doing this, but as he had suggested no viable recourse, she continued on. A few moments, one great sigh and handful of mumbled alien curses later, he followed after her. When she saw his hand held out, she quickly grasped it and was instantly reassured and felt her courage bolstered. At times like this she was reminded how much better it was with two.

She now felt confident they could make it across the rushing stream and to the TARDIS in a short amount of time and without incident. And of course that's when everything went pear-shaped.

A sharp crack of thunder tore through the atmosphere, so loudly and abruptly that it seemed as though an explosion went off beside them, causing Rose to jump slightly in surprise. The ground trembled under their feet with the resounding rumbles, as though the ground was quaking with the force of it.

Without warning, the smooth stones at her feet shifted—whether from the vibrations of the thunder or the movement of the swift water, she didn't know. In a flash, the water pushed her now-unsteady legs out from under her and she felt herself falling.

A cry of "Doctor!" was all Rose managed to get out before the icy claws of the rushing water dragged her under.

* * *

It was dark, so dark. She wasn't sure where she was, didn't know how she had gotten...well, wherever she currently was. Where was she, anyway? And why couldn't she remember anything?

Then Rose noticed a shimmering golden light, far in the distance; it swirled and spread in all directions, lighting up the dark like the sun rising over a mountain peak.

In the distance she could hear the faint echo of a wolf's howl; she shivered. Its haunting sound and the tendrils of light surrounded her like a long forgotten dream returning to her.

Before the light could reach her however, she became aware of a pulsing ache in her head. The light began to fade as a steady, rhythmic beeping sound filtered into her awareness. A slight weight was on her shoulder, rubbing a soothing pattern on her skin.

"Rose? Rose, can you hear me?" the Doctor's voice asked from beyond the dark fogginess of her mind.

Struggling to open her eyes, she felt a shaft of pain shoot through her head from the brightness of the room and immediately slammed her eyes shut once more, a moan of pain escaping her lips.

"Sorry. Just let me..." the Doctor murmured nonsensically.

Even from behind her closed eyes, she could tell when the lights dimmed. Hesitantly, she opened them again, blinking away the blurriness and struggling to focus.

The Doctor's handsome face appeared in her line of vision. He leaned close enough for her to see the freckles covering his cheeks and forehead, the hints of dark-gold in his chocolate-brown eyes and a day's worth of dark stubble that shadowed the lower half of his face. She longed to reach a hand up and smooth away the worry lines on his brow, to erase the deep concern in his eyes as he studied her.

Suddenly she recalled what happened and she quickly sat up—or tried to—and a sharp pain shot through her head and the left half of her body.

"Nonono. No, Rose, no. Don't try to move too fast," he said, his hand gently pressing her back to the bed.

"What happened? Where are we?" She glanced around. "The TARDIS's infirmary, right?"

"Yes. You slipped and fell into the water, hitting your head on the stream bed in the process. Gave yourself quite the concussion and some pretty spectacular bruises on the left half of your body. Not to mention you nearly aged me another decade, Rose Tyler," he admonished her.

"'S not like I did it on purpose...though I am sorry I scared you. Rather glad it was me and not you. Not sure I could've pulled you out of the water like you obviously did me."

She smiled the tongue-touched smile she knew he couldn't resist, and sure enough, his eyes softened as he huffed a small laugh.

Reaching for his hand, he grasped it, holding on like he never wanted to let go. She gave it a reassuring squeeze.

A few moments later she realized how dry her mouth was and requested a cuppa.

"Quite right. Super-heated infusion of free radicals and tannin; that'll heal your synapses in a jiffy. Hm, jiffy. And that is a word I hopefully will never use again. Tea, coming right up, Rose Tyler."

After two cups of tea and a bowl of soup, Rose was feeling much better, if not a bit achy and sore. It took some persuasion—and a bit of shameless begging—to convince the Doctor to help her to the Library. She did not relish the idea of spending more time in the infirmary than was needed.

In a short amount of time she and the Doctor were sitting on the plush burgundy couch in front of a roaring fire, her head pillowed on his lap. She let her mind drift as contentedness stole over her, listening to his soothing voice as he read Charles Dickens' _Great Expectations_ to her.

Regardless of whatever dangerous or compromising situations they found themselves in, she knew these tranquil moments between them were as much a balm to the Doctor's soul as to hers. She bundled this time with her Doctor and held it close to her heart, treasuring it and wishing for many more times like this in the future.

* * *

Part of Tumblr's Writer's Month Writing Challenge for August 2019.

All rights for Doctor Who and its characters belong to the BBC.

Day 11 prompt: whump


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